In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. One that is considered by many to be one of the greatest speeches ever given. I personally find his speech to be intensely passionate, powerful and inspirational. I wish we were able to tap into Dr. King’s soul in order to feel the unrelenting compassion he had for the people of this earth. He spoke of injustice, segregation, discrimination and the poverty that people were subjected to. The sad truth is that all of those things still exist today. His dream has yet to be realized despite the 50 years of opportunity that has passed us by. When you compare where we are to today versus a half a century ago we have definitely made some obvious progress, but, it is my opinion that we still have a very long way to go, if we truly want to “let freedom ring.” I too have a dream of my own. I imagine a world where we all shine, living/loving life, rising above all of the unnecessary suffering. A world where we thrive instead of living like a bunch of confused, disconnected, powerless victims that are desperately trying to survive. I imagine a world where we come together, uniting as a solitary tribe of generous, kind, accepting and loving people. This may be an absolute pipe-dream but I believe we, as individuals, can create this for ourselves and our loved ones. If we individually evolve to such a level, then we’ll be in a position to help others pull themselves up and out of their misery. I have a dream that more and more people will start to Live The 7, discovering a heightened connectedness with God’s love and light. Once that is obtained then all things are possible. That’s when all of our dreams come true. Dream big, people. Dream Big!

2012 has arrived and right along with it has come the billions of hopes, dreams, resolutions, goals and opportunities, as well as fears and worries. I hope that all of you had plenty of fun bringing in the New Year and are as excited as I am for what lies ahead. My original plan for my first blog entry of the year was to talk about integrity. As I reflected back on 2011 I couldn’t help but notice the severe lack of integrity that stained the world’s landscape. I thought about my own lapses in judgment and vowed to work harder on elevating my own level of integrity. Although I think it’s a very important subject to discuss, my plans were altered thanks to a vivid dream I had last night. I have a huge chalkboard at my place of business, The Power Center, where I display my word or phrase of the week. In the dream I was the first to arrive, but mysteriously someone had already written on the board. It asked the question, Can WE CREATE an ABUNDANCE of PEACE, LOVE, HEALTH, and HAPPINESS? P,L,H, & H are something that I write and  about all the time so I didn’t find it to be so unusual although the handwriting wasn’t familiar. As I stared at the board wondering who did this my mind and body were flooded with images and thoughts that had very powerful feelings accompanying them. I felt like I was being spoken to by a divine source of power. The first three words of the question were the focal point at first. The emphasis on the word WE. I saw images of people of all walks of life gathering together, I got the feeling that everyone was able to let go of their prejudices and fears of our differences and understood that the only way we could be successful at creating this was by coming together as one. Then the feeling shifted and my attention turned to the word ABUNDANCE. The images I saw were people with smiles on their faces admiring the beautiful fields of crops, houses with vibrant gardens, acres of boutiful orchards, children of all ages running around and playing, and an enormous river of pristine water flowing through the middle of it all. The feeling that I had was universal harmony and joy. There was a collective knowledge that there was more than enough for everyone. More than enough provisions, more than enough peace, more then enough love, more than enough health and more than enough happiness! I realize that this image is so far removed from the reality that we currently live in but I believe that collectively we can change the world and make it a much better place. We start by saying yes to the question, Can WE? Then we reassure ourselves that we are all worthy of a life full of P,L,H, & H. Spreading it and sharing it with others has become my life’s purpose and I intend on continuing on that path throughout the year. Please join me in an effort to make this dream come true. Here’s to a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year for All!

This is one of those questions that you hear all the time. Old friends, family members you haven’t seen in a while, old colleagues, or just about anyone that you’ve had past experiences with could drop it on you at any time. Our typical responses are short, sweet, and to the point. “Life is good” is one of the more popular. Short and sweet is fine but let’s put some more thought into it, delve a little deeper into the age old question. How is life? Well for me, life is a multitude of things - it’s mind-bending, amazing, mysterious, mesmerizing, challenging, humbling, educational, fun, surreal, crazy, interesting and definitely worth all of the adversity and hardships it will sometimes offer up. Life is a never ending cycle of evolution. We arrive from God knows where, we’re born into a particular family, under particular circumstances, in a particular community, living amongst thousands of other people that are all in the same boat. Despite all of our differences we are all the same. Human beings that all thrive when we are submerged in and raised with love and we struggle and suffer when we are deprived of that same gift. As we approach this new year let’s all try to love a little bit more. Starting with ourselves. Let go of the past and release the memories that cause you to suffer. Start anew and create the life that fills your heart with love, your mind with peace, your spirit with happiness and your body with health. Do this for yourself and the whole world will benefit, especially those people that you’re closest to. Spread the love everyone and life will be much better than good. It will be awesomeness!

Each of us is provided with 24 hours of time each and everyday that we are above ground. Most people sleep anywhere between 5 and 10 hours a night, which leaves you with 14 to 19 hours out of bed. I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep, which leaves me 17 hours to use however I see fit. A lot of those 17 are spent at work but there’s still plenty of hours that I can do as I please. During my formative years, the religion that I was exposed to, taught me that when we die and leave this wonderful planet, we go to a place they referred to as heaven. In more recent years I have developed a slightly different perspective and some new found beliefs. I no longer subscribe to the one and done theory. I think each of us has come to this earth for specific reasons. Most, if not all of us are here to learn, to experience life and to evolve. I also believe that if we’re unsuccessful in fulfilling our destiny then we stand the risk of having to come back (reincarnation) to try it again–something I’d rather not do. My belief in this theory is more than enough motivation for me to do everything in my power to figure out what my purpose is on this earth and to work on it everyday. That is one way for us to use our time wisely but there are plenty of others. In my experience I have found that one of the most important ways to spend our time is by acknowledging and lifting our spirit. All too often we get caught up and focus a lot of attention on the physical. We spend countless hours partaking in activities that completely neglect the spirit. Be it the pursuit of money for material gain or the wide variety of choices we make to entertain ourselves (partying, sex, pornography, watching television, going to the movies, taking vacations, participating in or watching sports, or any number of hobbies, etc…), We need to remember that Spirit is consciousness and it needs some undivided attention. If we neglect our spirit we disconnect from that higher consciousness and eventually start to feel off. The best way that I have found to reconnect with our spirit is by Living the 7. So if you happen to be one of the millions that are feeling a bit of that disconnect may I suggest giving the 7 a try? Now that would be using YOUR time very wisely!

Live the 7,

John Nies

Hurricane/Tropical storm Irene didn’t offer up too much destruction for a lot of us here in Jersey, but that wasn’t the case for everyone. For the families from those States who lost loved ones my heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to you. The same goes for those people whose homes and businesses were destroyed by the flooding and high winds. Irene got her fair share of attention and discussion as most storms do. The events leading up to the arrival of Irene were actually the motivation behind this blog entry. It may or may not be evident to you but it seems to me that there’s been a substantial increase in natural disasters around the World. Having an earthquake on the East coast last week is proof to me that Mother Nature is trying to get our attention. The way we respond to these events is crucial. The collective media, in my opinion is way too much of an alarmist, and does more harm than good. By displaying panic they feed fear into the minds of millions. When we are faced with a natural disaster, a roller coaster economy, a difficult relationship, a health crisis, or any or all of the above, the tendency is to become overwhelmed, and to let the “what if’s” and fear consume us and get the better of us. During these difficult times the world can seem chaotic and confusing. For many of us it doesn’t take much adversity before we allow our mind to focus on fear and anxiety as we mull over all the bad things that could happen. Then we start spinning, and feeding into not only our own fears but other peoples fears and hysteria,  and soon we are experiencing the very thing we hope to avoid–suffering. It’s vitally important for all of us to remember that we are at our best in a relaxed/calm state. This state of mind begins with a solid foundation of beliefs. Make yours unshakeable for it can help you tremendously to be strong no matter what you might be facing. We all need to be prepared especially mentally when it comes to reacting in a way that will give us the best chance for success, healing, recovery, or in a worst case scenario, survival. So I urge you all to ask yourself the question: Can you be the calm in the storm? If your answer leads you to uncertainty then perhaps you should consider building a stronger foundation and there’s no better way than Living the 7!

How often is it that you hear people commenting on how ‘time is flying by”? Days, weeks, months, and even years pass as if life’s DVD were stuck on fast forward. I also hear from a lot of adults that subscribe to the idea that the feeling of time accelerating comes with age. That may be true but adults aren’t the only ones noticing how fast-paced life has become. I’ve asked several kids and without exception they feel the same way - time is moving at a very fast pace. The kids I’ve asked say this is evident even during the school year, which completely baffles me, because when I was a kid the school year moved along like a slug climbing a very steep mountain. There’s no denying this phenomenon is a part of our current reality but the question I want pose is this: Can something be done to slow it down? I personally think the answer to that question is yes because I believe that collectively we’re to blame. Our thoughts, words, and actions (behavior) are what’s causing the acceleration, therefore if we so choose we can reverse it and slow things down. How do we do it you ask? By spending more time in the present. Living in the now slows life down. The anticipation of things to come in the future is what speeds it up. Let’s use the workweek as an example. How many millions of people are out there loathing Monday’s and how many more millions can’t wait for the weekend? We start this anticipation thing very early on in life. Kids can’t wait to get older, as if there’s something more magical about being 10 then being 9. Can’t wait to get our drivers license, can’t wait to turn 18 to move out or go to college, can’t wait for 21 as if there’s something special about being able to legally consume alcohol. Can’t wait for a cell phone upgrade, can’t wait for summer, can’t wait to go on that vacation, can’t wait for the next season of Entourage. Many of our lives have become all about anticipating things to come as opposed to appreciating and enjoying those things that we already have. Maybe you’re someone that doesn’t mind living life this way. But I think this way of life causes stress, leaves us anxious, disconnected, dissatisfied, and needlessly suffering. If you agree and want to try to slow things down than I recommend you spend more time trying to enjoy the present instead of dreaming about the future. Living the 7 will help if you’re interested in slowing down.